


I'll safeguard your secret

by androgynousclintbarton



Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-24 16:13:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22000738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/androgynousclintbarton/pseuds/androgynousclintbarton
Summary: Kakashi watches as Gai trains shortly after waking up from nearly dying
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai | Might Guy
Kudos: 56
Collections: KakaGai Week 2019 entries





	I'll safeguard your secret

Over the last 25 years of his life Kakashi had seen a lot of things. Blood, death, anger, hatred. They were all an everyday occurance for him, never fading away. Never leaving him alone.

They weren’t the only thing that refused to leave his side though. There was always one more, that small shining light that refused to disappear, no matter how hard he tried to shove it away. To hide himself away from it, thinking himself undeserving. That warmth that stuck by his side, never leaving him alone. Never letting the coldness take over completely.

It’s name was Might Gai, and in 25 years Kakashi had never been more thankful for anyone else in his life. Sure, he had made new friends and he loved them all. He’d fight and die for every single one of them if it came down to it, but Gai was different. Gai had been the one to save him during his darkest hours and had never asked for thanks or praise. He had always been more than happy to see that Kakashi was still there. Still alive.

That was probably what made this moment the hardest thing Kakashi had ever seen. Even through two different wars and countless battles Gai had always been strong. A beacon of hope and resilience, never giving up and certainly never letting anyone see his moments of weakness. He had always put his fears and pain aside so that others knew they weren’t alone. That Gai would always be watching out for them. Protecting them.

“Damn it!” Gai’s fist slammed into the ground, creating an indent in the dirt where he had been attempting to do his usual push ups just moments ago. 

It seemed it was time to take a break, though Gai wouldn’t agree to such a thing so easily.

“You’ve been at this for 2 hours,” He commented, his eyes meeting Gai’s when the other man glared back at him with tear stained eyes “the doctor’s told you not to push yourself.”

“Two hours is hardly anything compared to my usual routine,” Gai Insisted “I’ve barely started to break a sweat.”

“Breaking a sweat shouldn’t be the goal right now,” Kakashi argued, shoving himself up to his feet and making his way to the other man’s side “you just woke up a week ago after opening the Eighth gate. The fact that you’re alive is a miracle. You should be relaxing, not training.”

“And let you get ahead of me again?” The determination returned to Gai’s eyes. A much more familiar sight. One Kakashi never wanted to see disappear again. “No, i have to keep training. I have to keep up…”

“Gai…” Kakashi sighed when his boyfriend moved his hands back into position and continued with his push ups, his bad leg lifted high into the air even though they both knew at some point it would return to its regular position. Muscle memory was too hard to override, it would take far longer than a few days before his leg stopped trying to support him. To hold its own weight. “You really should rest. You put your body under a lot of pressure with that stunt of yours. It’ll take time to heal up fully.”

“And you should be doing your job.” He wasn’t wrong. Kakashi still had heaps of Paperwork to deal with that he was convinced Tsunade hadn’t touched during her time as Hokage. Still, this was where he was needed right now. Not stuck behind a giant desk board out of his skull. “I don’t need you to watch over me, Kakashi.”

Boy, did that sound familiar. Though, usually it was Kakashi saying it to Gai. “I don’t need your help” or “Stop worrying about me”. There were many variations to that annoyed declaration, and Kakashi knew every single one of them off by heart. They were carefully chosen words meant to guard his secret. To keep others from seeing his pain. 

Well, if Gai was going to throw his words back at him, he would just have to do the same.

“You don’t have to ‘need’ me for me to be here,” He gave Gai a pointed look, smiling to himself when his boyfriend looked away in shame “I’m not leaving Gai, so how about you stop arguing with me?”

“What is there that you have to be here for exactly?” Gai huffed, continuing his push ups as he spoke “Moral support?”

“Well, that’s not my area of expertise,” Kakashi agreed “usually that’s where you come in, keeping everyone pumped up and ready to go. Not letting them give up.”

The memories that came back to him were nice. Comforting even. The times that Gai had stood by his side and tried to push him forward, told him that there was nothing stopping them from becoming Konoha’s best. Shinobi that no one would ever be able to forget.

They had reached that stage ultimately, during the war. They were war heroes, even if it was sometimes overshadowed by Naruto’s accomplishments and skills. Everyone recognized their own abilities and skills, and not one person had forgotten about Gai while he was in the hospital. It had been almost impossible for Kakashi to visit him without at least 3 other visitors. He had even had to put time restrictions on the visitations so that Gai could have some private time with his team and Kakashi. 

Though, in some ways he figured that was probably worse for Gai. He always seemed to notice Neji’s absence the most when there were fewer people in the room. Fewer voices surrounding him. He’d never shown his hurt to Lee and Tenten of course, he refused to. Even now they needed their Sensei to be strong and positive. To keep them looking towards the future. 

But it was a different case when it was just Kakashi beside him. Gai always seemed to know he didn’t have to play the hero in his presence. Kakashi knew better than most what pain his boyfriend was in, and he’d never let Gai think for a second that he had to deal with that pain alone. Even now, when Gai thought his attentions would better serve the village and his paperwork, Kakashi knew he was needed here, by Gai’s side. 

“No,” he shifted his feet, taking a seat beside Gai and smiling when his boyfriend looked over at him in confusion “I guess I'm not really good at the ‘Moral Support’ area, but still. I think I'm more use here.”

“And what is it that you can do here that’s so important?” Gai inquired, his eyes glued on Kakashi as he hovered mid air ready to continue with his push ups.

“Well, at some point you’re going to want to take a break.” He smiled “and when that point comes, I think you’ll be glad to have me here as a pillow.”

“That sounds like it’s more of a bonus for you.” Gai frowned.

“Maybe,” Kakashi gave his shoulders a shrug “but I do know for a fact that you get grumpy when you have to sleep in a hospital bed for too long.”

Gai seemed to contemplate this for a moment, sighing when Kakashi continued to stay in his spot and watch him without any signs of wavering. “200 more push ups” He said softly, an agreement he was making with himself and Kakashi in order to hit his goal.

“That will add up to 500 for the day,” Kakashi nodded. 500 push-ups was nothing to Gai, barley a work out if there was no one sitting on his back, but it was a good start on the road to recovery. “Alright, I can agree to that.”

With that decided, Kakashi leaned back in his spot and watched as Gai continued with his push ups, intent on finishing them. He didn't need to ask Gai what was going through his mind, that much was obvious even to him. Gai had been excited when Lee told him the news of Kakashi’s promotion to Hokage, but he’d also considered it yet another challenge. Another step towards Kakashi becoming more amazing. More well known.

For all his positivity and drive, Gai never seemed to realize just how amazing he really was. Thankfully, Kakashi had about 25 years of experience to remind his boyfriend off, and he was going to take the chance to do just that as soon as Gai was done with his push-ups. 

Though, he'd continue to keep Gai's secrets for him. Gai had after all spent years keeping Kakashi's secrets tucked safely away from the rest of the world. The least he could do was make sure no one else saw the one side of Gai he didn't want them to. The secret pain and fear that he kept so carefully tucked away. 

That was something known only between them, and he'd make sure to keep it that way no matter what. 


End file.
